Disclaimer: Well, if you haven't learned from the others, you're not going
to start listening now.
************************************************************************
Emily cried until she had no more tears to shed.
All the while Phil held Emily patiently. There was nothing he could say to ease the pain, so he stood quietly, giving her someone to lean on. It was all he could offer her at the moment. She would have asked for nothing more.
"She's not coming back is she? Even at the end, I was sure that she would find some way to save herself."
Phil shook his head. "I'm sorry Emily."
Emily looked at the shattered shards of stone on the ground. The Soul Render's power had been depleted when the portal had been opened. "She died alone in there. I couldn't stay with her. In the end, I really did abandon her."
Phil hugged her tighter. "You did all you could. She wouldn't have asked for anything more."
Emily sniffled. "I wish. . .I wish that it had been me instead."
"Don't say things like that. She did what she did for you Emily. Even at the very end she was thinking about you." Phil smiled at Emily sadly. "The last thing she told me was to take care of you."
Emily tried to smile. "Really?"
Phil nodded. "Sure. There was a death threat involved, but that was the basic message."
Emily laughed a little at that. "Yeah, that sounds like her style." She leaned her head against Phil's chest and whispered, "Thanks mom."
************************************************************************
Pain. There was so much pain. The man groaned as he tried to sit up. Looking around, he saw that he was in the middle of the wilderness. Trees surrounded him and in the distance mountains partially concealed the setting sun.
The man struggled to his feet and brushed purple hair out of his eyes. Feeling something warm, he looked at his hand quizzically. "What?" There was blood on his hand. He reached up and touched his forehead again. The results were the same. Blood. He realized something. It was his blood. His breathing quickened and his eyes widened in growing horror. He whispered, "What did you do?" Something else hit home right after that. He was breathing. He wasn't supposed to be breathing. He fell to his knees and screamed. "What did you do to me?!"
************************************************************************
Phil watched his mother pack up their things with a smile on his face. "So, what are you going to do now mother?"
Amelia looked at Zelgadis and then back at Phil. She smiled. "I'm going to live for myself." She pulled a letter out of a bag and handed it to Phil. "Give this to your grandfather please. Tell him that I'm finally happy."
"I'm sure he'll be glad to hear it mother." Phil hugged Amelia.
Zelgadis grinned at Phil. "And what about you guys?"
Emily and Phil looked at each other.
Emily smiled at Zelgadis. "I'm going to continue traveling. There's still a lot of the world left for me to see."
Phil scratched his head. "Well, I suppose I have to go back to Seyruun, at least for a while."
Emily looked at him worriedly.
Phil saw the look and grinned. "But, I guess I could take the long way. I'll get there in, I don't know, a few years maybe? I've always wanted to see the world and now is my chance."
Emily breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that.
Amelia shook her head with a smile. "Well I guess there's no point in giving you my letter is there?" She took it back from Phil. "I'll get it to father somehow."
They all looked at each other for a moment.
Amelia sighed. "Well, I guess this is goodbye."
Zelgadis smiled as he put an arm around Amelia. "I'm sure we'll meet again."
They turned to leave when Zelgadis remembered something. "Phil?"
"Yes Mr. Greywords?"
"Do you remember that conversation we had in your father's study?"
Phil nodded.
"If you ever finish it, I'd love for you to send me a copy of your research."
Phil smiled. "I guess I can do that. Farewell Mr. Greywords. Mother."
Both pairs turned and began walking in opposite directions.
Amelia turned to Zelgadis as they walked. "What was that all about?"
Zelgadis smiled. "Time."
Amelia shook her head and grinned. "Fine. Keep your little secret. I've got the rest of my life to find out right?"
Zelgadis put his arm around Amelia's waist and held her close as they walked. "Where should we go first?"
"I don't care as long as you're there beside me." Amelia kissed his cheek.
When they were out of sight of Zelgadis and Amelia, Phil spoke to Emily. "You have no idea of where we're headed, do you?"
Emily glanced at Phil with an annoyed expression. "Sure I do! We're going wherever the road takes us!"
Phil smiled. "I've always wanted to go there. I've heard it's quite nice at this time of year."
Emily grinned. "Oh really?"
"Really."
They both laughed as they walked off into the sunset.
************************************************************************
It was a lovely summer day. Warm, but cloudy so that it wasn't too hot. In a forest clearing, there was a picnic blanket spread on the ground. A woman who looked to be in her mid thirties, her fourteen-year old daughter and six year old son sat on the blanket.
". . .and that's the whole story." Emily smiled at her son, Gourry.
Emily's daughter Lina rolled her eyes and pushed her dark hair out of her face. "Whatever. I'm going for a walk."
Emily smiled. "Alright. Don't take too long. We'll be ready to go pretty soon."
Lina walked off into the forest.
Phil sat down behind Emily and wrapped his arms around her. "Of course, your mother neglected to mention all the trouble that she's gotten us into over the years."
Emily turned and kissed Phil. "Well, it's not really relevant to the story is it dear? Gourry was asking about his grandma and grandpa, not our life story."
Phil winked at his son. "Is that the truth Gourry?"
Gourry shook his head and giggled. "Uh-uh. I asked about how you met mom."
Phil turned back to Emily who was making shushing gestures towards her son. "Caught in the act, love. I think you were selectively omitting certain parts of the story that portrayed you in an less than stellar light." He chuckled.
Emily groaned and smiled. "Okay you got me. Well Gourry, there was this one time that I dragged your dad off on a quest to get some black dragon eggs. . ."
Phil grimaced. "I still have scars from that one."
************************************************************************
Lina Seyruun walked through the forest enjoying the sounds of nature. She loved her mother, but it was so obvious that her stories were fictional. No one could possibly be as heroic as she made Lina's grandparents out to be.
Lina heard a chuckle coming from above her in a tree. "Who's there?" She looked up to see a feminine figure sitting on a low hanging branch. The leaves obscured her features but Lina thought she saw a flash of red hair.
The figure spoke. "You should pay more attention to your mother. If anything, she's toning down the story to make it more believable."
Lina shook her head. "Who are you?"
The wind rustled through the leaves and the figure was gone.
Lina shrugged and started back towards the clearing. "That was odd. . ."
************************************************************************
Elsewhere, Emily was carrying some flowers to a small marker in a clearing. She smiled as she sat down. She spoke as she arranged the flowers on the marker. "I'm sorry I haven't been by lately dad, but I've been busy." She pointed to a small silver circlet on her head. "It's a lot of work being the Crown Princess and a mother." She put her hand on her stomach. "Especially, with another child on the way." She paused for a moment before continuing. "It's hard not being able to come and go as I please, but I've never been happier." She sighed and stood, brushing some dirt off herself. "Bye dad. I'll visit again when I can." She turned to leave.
Suddenly, the wind picked up. However, it wasn't a breeze. This was more like a gale than anything. Leaves rustled through the clearing and the trees swayed. Just as abruptly as it started, the wind died down again.
"What was that?" Emily glanced down at the marker and her eyes widened in surprise.
On the marker, next to the bouquet Emily had brought, were two brilliant red roses.
"Who?" Emily glanced around the clearing, but saw no sign of anyone else. A soft noise reached her ears. She cocked her head and listened. For a moment, she thought she heard the faint sound of her mother's laughter on the breeze.
************************************************************************
Next Chapter: Hey, there isn't another chapter. Hmm. Next story! We'll catch up with Zelgadis a couple years down the road. It's probably going to be a very angsty story.
Notes: These notes are going to be pretty long. Probably pretty annoying too. Full of regrets, you know?
Well, it's done. I hope all of you have enjoyed reading it. I loved writing it. Feeling kind of sad now that it's done though. Only thing to do is start on the next one!
Thanks a bunch to everyone who took the time to review. Sometimes I would get really frustrated and want to scrap the story. But knowing that someone was reading and waiting for the end kept me going.
Stara, thanks for the reviews. The "Go get him big guy!" was actually pulled from the first episode of Next. I really liked the quote so I put it in.
Matakishi, you did WHAT to the LoN?! You're tempting fate aren't you? ;)
Things I would have changed in retrospect (and still might if I get the ambition to rewrite).
I really wanted to have Vance be more than the hired muscle in the story. I would have liked to tie his past to Emily's somehow. I still might write a one shot for him to flesh him out a little.
I wish I had developed the Cruso orphans a little more. I know they weren't featured very prominently, but you have no idea of how annoying it was every time they showed up. My logic went like this: "Well this is probably the last time I'll mention them, so I don't need to give them names." Then they would show up again. And again. And again. And, well you get the idea. It bugged the hell out of me every time I mentioned them.
I also would have either fleshed out the information in "Artifacts of the Four Worlds" or cut the book out of the story entirely. Considering that I really didn't use it to it's full potential, I probably could have cut it.
I also wrote a flashback that detailed Xellos's actions in Cruso. It was interesting, but I decided that Lina needed to figure it out instead of Xellos explaining everything. So that got the axe.
Well, looking over it, I guess my complaints are pretty minor considering I pretty much had no idea of where the story was going. Instead of writing what I wanted, I pretty much let the story go where it wanted. *Shrugs* I probably should have reined it in more than I did, but I was having too much fun. Well, goodbye until the second part of the trilogy. Had fun writing. Hope you had fun reading.
************************************************************************
Emily cried until she had no more tears to shed.
All the while Phil held Emily patiently. There was nothing he could say to ease the pain, so he stood quietly, giving her someone to lean on. It was all he could offer her at the moment. She would have asked for nothing more.
"She's not coming back is she? Even at the end, I was sure that she would find some way to save herself."
Phil shook his head. "I'm sorry Emily."
Emily looked at the shattered shards of stone on the ground. The Soul Render's power had been depleted when the portal had been opened. "She died alone in there. I couldn't stay with her. In the end, I really did abandon her."
Phil hugged her tighter. "You did all you could. She wouldn't have asked for anything more."
Emily sniffled. "I wish. . .I wish that it had been me instead."
"Don't say things like that. She did what she did for you Emily. Even at the very end she was thinking about you." Phil smiled at Emily sadly. "The last thing she told me was to take care of you."
Emily tried to smile. "Really?"
Phil nodded. "Sure. There was a death threat involved, but that was the basic message."
Emily laughed a little at that. "Yeah, that sounds like her style." She leaned her head against Phil's chest and whispered, "Thanks mom."
************************************************************************
Pain. There was so much pain. The man groaned as he tried to sit up. Looking around, he saw that he was in the middle of the wilderness. Trees surrounded him and in the distance mountains partially concealed the setting sun.
The man struggled to his feet and brushed purple hair out of his eyes. Feeling something warm, he looked at his hand quizzically. "What?" There was blood on his hand. He reached up and touched his forehead again. The results were the same. Blood. He realized something. It was his blood. His breathing quickened and his eyes widened in growing horror. He whispered, "What did you do?" Something else hit home right after that. He was breathing. He wasn't supposed to be breathing. He fell to his knees and screamed. "What did you do to me?!"
************************************************************************
Phil watched his mother pack up their things with a smile on his face. "So, what are you going to do now mother?"
Amelia looked at Zelgadis and then back at Phil. She smiled. "I'm going to live for myself." She pulled a letter out of a bag and handed it to Phil. "Give this to your grandfather please. Tell him that I'm finally happy."
"I'm sure he'll be glad to hear it mother." Phil hugged Amelia.
Zelgadis grinned at Phil. "And what about you guys?"
Emily and Phil looked at each other.
Emily smiled at Zelgadis. "I'm going to continue traveling. There's still a lot of the world left for me to see."
Phil scratched his head. "Well, I suppose I have to go back to Seyruun, at least for a while."
Emily looked at him worriedly.
Phil saw the look and grinned. "But, I guess I could take the long way. I'll get there in, I don't know, a few years maybe? I've always wanted to see the world and now is my chance."
Emily breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that.
Amelia shook her head with a smile. "Well I guess there's no point in giving you my letter is there?" She took it back from Phil. "I'll get it to father somehow."
They all looked at each other for a moment.
Amelia sighed. "Well, I guess this is goodbye."
Zelgadis smiled as he put an arm around Amelia. "I'm sure we'll meet again."
They turned to leave when Zelgadis remembered something. "Phil?"
"Yes Mr. Greywords?"
"Do you remember that conversation we had in your father's study?"
Phil nodded.
"If you ever finish it, I'd love for you to send me a copy of your research."
Phil smiled. "I guess I can do that. Farewell Mr. Greywords. Mother."
Both pairs turned and began walking in opposite directions.
Amelia turned to Zelgadis as they walked. "What was that all about?"
Zelgadis smiled. "Time."
Amelia shook her head and grinned. "Fine. Keep your little secret. I've got the rest of my life to find out right?"
Zelgadis put his arm around Amelia's waist and held her close as they walked. "Where should we go first?"
"I don't care as long as you're there beside me." Amelia kissed his cheek.
When they were out of sight of Zelgadis and Amelia, Phil spoke to Emily. "You have no idea of where we're headed, do you?"
Emily glanced at Phil with an annoyed expression. "Sure I do! We're going wherever the road takes us!"
Phil smiled. "I've always wanted to go there. I've heard it's quite nice at this time of year."
Emily grinned. "Oh really?"
"Really."
They both laughed as they walked off into the sunset.
************************************************************************
It was a lovely summer day. Warm, but cloudy so that it wasn't too hot. In a forest clearing, there was a picnic blanket spread on the ground. A woman who looked to be in her mid thirties, her fourteen-year old daughter and six year old son sat on the blanket.
". . .and that's the whole story." Emily smiled at her son, Gourry.
Emily's daughter Lina rolled her eyes and pushed her dark hair out of her face. "Whatever. I'm going for a walk."
Emily smiled. "Alright. Don't take too long. We'll be ready to go pretty soon."
Lina walked off into the forest.
Phil sat down behind Emily and wrapped his arms around her. "Of course, your mother neglected to mention all the trouble that she's gotten us into over the years."
Emily turned and kissed Phil. "Well, it's not really relevant to the story is it dear? Gourry was asking about his grandma and grandpa, not our life story."
Phil winked at his son. "Is that the truth Gourry?"
Gourry shook his head and giggled. "Uh-uh. I asked about how you met mom."
Phil turned back to Emily who was making shushing gestures towards her son. "Caught in the act, love. I think you were selectively omitting certain parts of the story that portrayed you in an less than stellar light." He chuckled.
Emily groaned and smiled. "Okay you got me. Well Gourry, there was this one time that I dragged your dad off on a quest to get some black dragon eggs. . ."
Phil grimaced. "I still have scars from that one."
************************************************************************
Lina Seyruun walked through the forest enjoying the sounds of nature. She loved her mother, but it was so obvious that her stories were fictional. No one could possibly be as heroic as she made Lina's grandparents out to be.
Lina heard a chuckle coming from above her in a tree. "Who's there?" She looked up to see a feminine figure sitting on a low hanging branch. The leaves obscured her features but Lina thought she saw a flash of red hair.
The figure spoke. "You should pay more attention to your mother. If anything, she's toning down the story to make it more believable."
Lina shook her head. "Who are you?"
The wind rustled through the leaves and the figure was gone.
Lina shrugged and started back towards the clearing. "That was odd. . ."
************************************************************************
Elsewhere, Emily was carrying some flowers to a small marker in a clearing. She smiled as she sat down. She spoke as she arranged the flowers on the marker. "I'm sorry I haven't been by lately dad, but I've been busy." She pointed to a small silver circlet on her head. "It's a lot of work being the Crown Princess and a mother." She put her hand on her stomach. "Especially, with another child on the way." She paused for a moment before continuing. "It's hard not being able to come and go as I please, but I've never been happier." She sighed and stood, brushing some dirt off herself. "Bye dad. I'll visit again when I can." She turned to leave.
Suddenly, the wind picked up. However, it wasn't a breeze. This was more like a gale than anything. Leaves rustled through the clearing and the trees swayed. Just as abruptly as it started, the wind died down again.
"What was that?" Emily glanced down at the marker and her eyes widened in surprise.
On the marker, next to the bouquet Emily had brought, were two brilliant red roses.
"Who?" Emily glanced around the clearing, but saw no sign of anyone else. A soft noise reached her ears. She cocked her head and listened. For a moment, she thought she heard the faint sound of her mother's laughter on the breeze.
************************************************************************
Next Chapter: Hey, there isn't another chapter. Hmm. Next story! We'll catch up with Zelgadis a couple years down the road. It's probably going to be a very angsty story.
Notes: These notes are going to be pretty long. Probably pretty annoying too. Full of regrets, you know?
Well, it's done. I hope all of you have enjoyed reading it. I loved writing it. Feeling kind of sad now that it's done though. Only thing to do is start on the next one!
Thanks a bunch to everyone who took the time to review. Sometimes I would get really frustrated and want to scrap the story. But knowing that someone was reading and waiting for the end kept me going.
Stara, thanks for the reviews. The "Go get him big guy!" was actually pulled from the first episode of Next. I really liked the quote so I put it in.
Matakishi, you did WHAT to the LoN?! You're tempting fate aren't you? ;)
Things I would have changed in retrospect (and still might if I get the ambition to rewrite).
I really wanted to have Vance be more than the hired muscle in the story. I would have liked to tie his past to Emily's somehow. I still might write a one shot for him to flesh him out a little.
I wish I had developed the Cruso orphans a little more. I know they weren't featured very prominently, but you have no idea of how annoying it was every time they showed up. My logic went like this: "Well this is probably the last time I'll mention them, so I don't need to give them names." Then they would show up again. And again. And again. And, well you get the idea. It bugged the hell out of me every time I mentioned them.
I also would have either fleshed out the information in "Artifacts of the Four Worlds" or cut the book out of the story entirely. Considering that I really didn't use it to it's full potential, I probably could have cut it.
I also wrote a flashback that detailed Xellos's actions in Cruso. It was interesting, but I decided that Lina needed to figure it out instead of Xellos explaining everything. So that got the axe.
Well, looking over it, I guess my complaints are pretty minor considering I pretty much had no idea of where the story was going. Instead of writing what I wanted, I pretty much let the story go where it wanted. *Shrugs* I probably should have reined it in more than I did, but I was having too much fun. Well, goodbye until the second part of the trilogy. Had fun writing. Hope you had fun reading.
